Six Suspects Apprehended After €12 Million Robbery on Gold Processing Laboratory in the French Republic

Six armed perpetrators carrying high-powered firearms employed explosives to force entry into a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, resulting in minor injuries to five staff members during described as the newest significant daylight theft to hit France.

The bold operation was carried out on Thursday afternoon, with law enforcement authorities quickly arresting the alleged criminals and recovering the stolen goods estimated to be worth €12M (10.5 million pounds), officials reported.

Five staff members of the gold refining company sustained minor injuries from the blast, and three of them were taken to a medical facility for assessment, the regional prefecture announced. Twenty-eight employees were at the location when the thieves struck.

Those arrested, thought to be career criminals, were detained a brief time later in the adjacent municipality of Vénissieux, France, authorities revealed.

A female accomplice who participated in the heist was also apprehended, officers confirmed.

“Six individuals who utilized explosives in an attack on a precious metals company in Lyon were apprehended red-handed,” France's security official announced via X, praising officers for their “firmness, rapid response and command”.

High-caliber firearms, handguns and detonation devices were also confiscated.

The robbery occurred as French police on Thursday apprehended five additional individuals, among them a key figure, in relation to this month's brazen theft at the Louvre.

Numerous detectives have been hunting four perpetrators who used a vehicle equipped with a moving lift and cutting gear to break into an upper-level exhibition space at the prestigious institution on 19 October, making off with precious items estimated to be worth €88 million.

In another notable incident, thieves last month forced their way into the Parisian museum of natural history, stealing gold samples worth over $1 million. A young Chinese female was apprehended in the current month in the city of Barcelona in relation to the burglary, according to legal authorities.

The sequence of heists has sparked worry in France regarding inadequate security measures at cultural venues and other facilities containing precious artifacts.